


Avatar: The Legend of Angus

by TaraHarkon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Agni Kai (Avatar), Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avatar Angus, Bending (Avatar), F/M, Fire Nation Kravitz, Fire Nation Lup, Flashbacks, M/M, Separated Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:16:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon
Summary: Water. Earth. Fire. Air.My aunt used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.A hundred years passed and I discovered the new Avatar, an earthbender named Angus, and although his earthbending skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.But I believe Angus can save the world.- Taako of the Fire Nation Colonies





	1. The Boy in the Crystal Cave

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ToTillAGarden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToTillAGarden/gifts).



> Special thanks to the TFW Discord for giving me the inspiration to write this and helping me hash out a lot of it.

Taako glanced back over his shoulder as he made his way down the road. It wouldn’t do to get caught out here after the curfew. Too much chance that the Fire Nation soldiers would go through his belongings and that would just spell trouble for him. Instead, he adjusted the seat of his jacket and kept his head down. If anything looked suspicious, he’d run. Just like he always did. Running was what Taako did best. At the same time, though, he knew he needed to find someplace to camp for the night soon. It was getting dark and he needed to sleep. With another look around to make sure he was alone on this stretch of road, Taako slipped his sandals off and shifted to a wider stance, moving his hands to his sides. Then he stomped hard with his left foot, eyes closed as he listened and felt. There was a cave in the hills not too far away from here. It felt like it was sealed shut, but he could always slip inside and chill for the night with no one the wiser. Taako pulled his sandals back on and hiked his pack higher on his shoulders before heading off into the hills.

The cave itself seemed to be made of a pinkish crystal that hummed under Taako’s hands as he ran them along the smooth faces.

“This is some pretty shit. And you can’t see through it... Perfect. Maybe I can even cook dinner in there tonight. That’d be sweet.”

He dropped into that wide stance again, hands in front of him this time. Then he shifted quickly, throwing his hands apart. The crystal split cleanly just enough for Taako to slip inside. Before he could turn to seal the cave back up though, he saw something unusual: curled up in the center of the cave around what looked like a jellyfish was a little boy dressed in Earth Kingdom colors. A little boy whose eyes glowed behind his glasses. His eyes snapped open as Taako watched him. The jellyfish squirmed out of his grasp, floating oddly around the cave like it was examining Taako.

“It’s okay, Junior. He seems alright.” Then the boy looked up, his eyes no longer glowing as he smiled. “Hello, Sir. I’m Angus.”

There were a lot of things Taako could have done in that moment. He could have panicked, he could have run, he could have made a quick retort. He did none of those things. Instead, he just looked down at the strange boy in the crystal cave.

“I’m Taako, you know, from the Fire Nation Colonies. Do you... maybe want some dinner?”

Angus rubbed at one of his eyes, standing.

“I am pretty hungry. The Fire Nation has colonies? Since when?”

Taako blinked rapidly, setting his pack on the ground. He’d grown up in the Colonies, his aunt had told him that his parents had met in the Colonies.

“How long have you been in here, bubbeleh?”

Angus looked around now, the jellyfish bobbing to his side.

“I...I don’t know, Sir-”

“Taako.” Taako correctly quickly. “Just Taako.”

The little boy looked at him uncertainly and then nodded.

“Taako. Well, Taako, I don’t know. There was...” And then his eyes went wide and he started running for the mouth of the cave. “Grampa!”

“Shit!”

Taako lunged for the kid, grabbing him before he could get out.

“What are you doing? Do you want to get roasted, my dude?”

Angus was squirming, trying to get past him but then he froze.

“Is...is the forest still burning?” His voice was soft and almost scared. “I need to find my Grampa.”

Taako held onto the boy.

“I don’t know about any forest fires, bubbuleh, but cha’boy definitely does not want to see you get roasted by the Fire Nation. And they would absolutely catch you if you go running out there yelling.”

Angus tried to look over Taako’s shoulder at the twilight outside the cave.

“What does the Fire Nation have to do with anything? This is the Earth Kingdom.”

Taako couldn’t answer that, not with his throat choking up at the question, not with the images rushing through his mind, not with the name on his lips that he yearned to say. Instead, he looked away.

“A lot.” Taako took a breath, not ready to explain. “Come on, how about I cook us some dinner and tomorrow, we’ll go into town and look for your Grampa?”

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and Taako was glad he’d decided to take the kid into town. He needed to pick up some supplies after dinner the night before and maybe he could do a little cooking work in exchange. That was always a nice way to spend a day. Angus kept up, looking around him curiously as they walked, but Taako mostly ignored it. Kids were like that, he was pretty sure. At least, he remembered being curious like that a long time ago.

“Hey Taako, this isn’t the way to my village.”

Taako kept walking even as Angus stopped in the road.

“This is the nearest village, my dude. Lived here my whole life and don’t know about any others nearby. Now, come on, we’re almost there.”

They rounded the bend and they both nearly stopped in surprise. The normally small village was packed with people today and they could see flames spurting over the roofs of the buildings. Then Taako relaxed as he saw a pair of kids run by with masks on.

“Fire Festival. Come on, Ango, let’s go get some masks and have a little fun while we look for your gramps.”

Angus stayed close to Taako, his eyes wide.

“If you say so, Taako.”

Taako grabbed a pair of masks and tossed one to the kid.

“Let’s see, platypus bear for you and fire mongoose for me. Now cha’boy wants some fire flakes. Ever had fire flakes, Ango?”

Angus had stopped in the path again, trying to get his glasses and mask to work together, but he looked up at the question.

“No? What’s a fire flake?”

Taako tossed a box of the spicy snack to Angus, already popping some into his own mouth.

“Try some, my dude.”

Taako turned away to hide the grin, knowing that the kid wouldn’t be able to handle the spice. That was when he caught the flash of red and black. Fire Nation Soldiers in uniform. Taako felt his pulse pounding in his ears. They were here. They were here and they were going to catch him. It was going to be just like when he was a little kid. Except... No, this time he could run. He would run. He turned quick, grabbing Angus by the arm.

“Come on, we gotta go.”

Angus looked up at him, face bright red from a mouthful of fire flakes.

“But... why?”

“F-Fire Nation. Come on.”

Angus tried to peer around Taako and he caught a glimpse of a trio of soldiers walking together. One of them was laughing, head thrown back even with the masked helmet on. The man walking alongside that soldier had a chagrined look on his face, like he was possibly the butt of the joke. The third was steadfastly ignoring the other two.

“They’re not doing anything though? I think they’re just enjoying the festival, Taako.”

But Taako’s hands were shaking.

“No, you don’t get it, my dude. They’re Fire Nation Soldiers. They’re killers.” For a moment, Taako’s face was bleak, but then he continued. “Come on, we gotta go  _ now. _ ”

Angus tried to pull away.

“I don’t understand, Taako. They’re just people from the Fire Nation, right?”

Taako just gripped the boy’s arm harder and leaned in.

“They find out I’m an Earthbender and I’m as good as dead, got it, kid? Now let’s go.”

“Why-why would they do that?” Angus stared up at Taako, dropping his mask. “This is... this is the Earth Kingdom, Taako. Why would... Why...?”

Taako shook his head and started tugging Angus towards the edge of the village. They could make a break for it and-

“Where do you think you’re going, peasant?”

A handsome man in Fire Nation armor with his helmet under his arm strode up, looking the pair over. He tapped his foot. Then one of the soldiers leaned in.

“I bet they’re thieves, boss man. Want me to light ‘em up?”

The third soldier hung back, adjusting his glasses as he watched. The leader shook his head.

“Not yet. I want to see what explanation these two have for me.”

Taako looked down at Angus and then back up at the soldier, forcing a grin on his face under the fire mongoose mask.

“Just one question first.” Then Taako spread his feet to balance his weight. “What’s your name, thug? Because I’m about to drop an avalanche on you.”

The leader looked surprised for a moment and then started laughing.

“Would you look at that, we’ve caught ourselves a little Earthbender. Sure, I’ll give you my name. You might as well know who’s arresting you. Call me Kravitz.”

Taako raised an eyebrow.

“Kravitz, huh? Well, good luck trying to arrest me, handsome.”

Then Taako punched forward and the ground under the two soldiers shifted, knocking them off their feet. 

“Ango! Run!”

The boy froze. Taako turned run as the soldiers scrambled to their feet, but he stopped when he realized Angus hadn’t moved. Flames arched at Taako and he ducked, kicking back to launch a rock at the soldiers. Angus watched Taako and then planted his feet, aiming a quick one-two punch of flying stones at the soldiers. Kravitz dodged out of the way of both attacks, launching another shot of flames at Angus, and the other soldier did a handspring, helmet staying behind. Angus pulled the flames towards him and then gestured away, redirecting them. Then Taako didn’t notice that, his eyes were on the Fire Nation Soldier standing in front of him.

“L-Lulu?”

He was staring at a mirror of his own face but her hair was tied back in a tight braid and she was wearing the uniform of the enemy. Lup glared at Taako, flames swirling around her hands.

_ “What did you just call me, Earth Kingdom peasant?” _

Taako held his hands out, shaking.

“You’re... Lup. You’re my... you’re my sister. It’s me, Taako.”

He couldn’t believe this. His sister. He hadn’t seen his sister in so long and here she was. And she was a Fire Nation Soldier. Then her next words shook him to his core.

“My brother is  _ dead. _ ”

* * *

“Lup! Taako! Stay inside.”

The twins held each other’s hands tightly, staying down and hidden like they’d been taught. They could see their mother from where they were hiding. She was arguing with a man in red armor, pleading.

“You already sent my husband to Ba Sing Se. Please, I’m begging you, just let me keep my children until they’re a little older and then-”

The soldier slapped her and Lup growled, starting to rise. Taako tried to pull her back down, but the soldiers had already seen. The commander smiled slowly.

“Grab the children, test both of them. Deal with the woman.”

Lup shifted her stance and kicked at Taako, flames shooting at him. He couldn’t react fast enough, but then a stranger burst out of the crowd wearing a bear mask and slammed into him, knocking him out of the way. The stranger managed to grab Taako before he fell, turning to run and pulling him along.

“Your friend already got away. Come on.”

Pretty soon they were out of the village and Taako turned to see if they were still being chased. Instead, he found himself looking at a young woman in a green dress? Armor? Unclear. Angus was with her and the guy who had gotten Taako out was standing next to her.

“What were you thinking? Bending in front of Fire Nation. Are you an idiot?”

The woman was gesturing at him with a fan and Taako didn’t even begin to know how to respond to that. Instead, he looked back towards the village.

“That was... that was my sister.”

“Jules, leave him alone. It was Kravitz and his group. They started it.”

* * *

Lup stretched and then dropped into a seat in their room, looking at her other two teammates.

“Well?”

Kravitz didn’t stand, he was pacing with annoyance. Stopping, he turned to glare.

“Well, what, Lup? May I remind you that you are not in charge of this unit? Now explain to me why you like that Earthbender escape.”

Lup bristled, sitting up straighter.

“I didn’t see you do anything to help the situation,  _ Boss. _ ”

Before their disagreement could heat up further, they were interrupted by the third member of their company clearing his throat. He took a moment to clean his glasses before addressing them.

“Kravitz, sir, I noticed something in the fight. The boy, the one they were calling Ango. He uh... He didn’t just Earthbend.”

Lup leaned forward, a grin on her face, and Kravitz stood straighter.

“Spit it out, Barry.”

Barry stood a little straighter and grinned slowly.

“Well, I saw that kid Earthbend  _ and _ Firebend. I think we uh... I think we found the Avatar.”


	2. Agni Kai

Four figures huddled in a workshop in the countryside talking hushed voices. Julia stood and checked the shutters once more.

“We’ll be safe here until tomorrow. As far as they’re concerned, there’s no one worth worrying about living up here.”

Her tone turned bitter at the end and Magnus looked up at her.

“We’ll get your dad back, Jules, I promise.”

Angus looked up from where he sat, his arms around Junior.

“What happened to your dad, Miss Julia?”

Julia turned away and Magnus reached out to rest his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“The Fire Nation arrested him. For Earthbending...” Magnus looked down, his other hand tight in a fist. “Now he’s in General Kalen’s stupid prison.”

Taako flinched at that.

“Well shit, my dude. I mean, that pretty much sucks.”

Angus nodded in agreement and then looked down. For a long moment, he was quiet. Then he looked up again, tears in his eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t stop them, Sirs, Miss Julia.... I should have done something.”

All eyes turned towards the boy and Magnus looked a little surprised before he laughed.

“What do you mean, Angus? I mean, I get you’re a bender but-”

Angus cut Magnus off, getting to his feet.

“I’m... I’m the Avatar, Sir.”

The only sound that could be heard in that moment was the wind whistling off the roof tiles. Then Taako crossed his arms over his chest, looking Angus over.

“Are you for real, kid?”

Angus nodded, hugging Junior against his chest.

“That’s what Grampa told me it meant when I was real little and I would sometimes Firebend when I was practicing Earthbending. And one time when I got surprised, I Waterbended a little. But I haven’t had any training yet and I know I’m not supposed to until I’m sixteen, but... but...”

Julia knelt down, looking at Angus across the small circle their group made on the floor.

“You’re serious. You’re... you’re the Avatar?” When Angus nodded, she grinned. “Then I’m glad I found you, and you just got yourself a bodyguard. I’m one of the Kyoshi Warriors.”

Magnus, though, looked over at Taako.

“You didn’t know you were traveling with the Avatar?”

Taako raised his hands almost defensively.

“My dude, I found short stack here in a cave like... yesterday. All I said was I’d help him find his gramps. But... Fuck, if you’re the Avatar, you need teachers. Like, real bending masters.”

Angus nodded a little, though he didn’t seem entirely convinced.

* * *

“We’re going to need to find you a teacher, Angus. A real Firebending master.”

Angus looked up at his grandfather, a curious look on his face.

“Why can’t I just learn it from you, Grampa? You already taught me so, so much about Earthbending.”

The old man chuckled and ruffled Angus’ hair. Then he patted the seat beside him. When Angus sat, his grandfather began to speak once more.

“Angus, when you started Earthbending so young, I’ve never been so proud in my entire life. And being your teacher has been a great honor. But I can’t teach you to master fire, water, and air. I don’t know them. I don’t feel them in my bones and in my spirit the way another Bender would.”

Angus moved to lean against his grandfather.

“I just don’t want things to change, Grampa.”

“Not all change is bad, my young student, and sometimes change is necessary for-”

Then a young woman came running through the garden gate, her breathing heavy and his eyes wide.

“Master McDonald. Master McDonald, you have to come quickly! The forest is on fire and it’s headed towards the village. We tried to... We tried to dig the ditches like last time, but the fire jumped them.”

The old man stood, shock on his face and then fear. He turned to his grandson.

“Angus, stay here. I’ll be-”

“But-”

“Not this time. I promise you, I’ll be home soon. Stay here and stay safe.”

* * *

Magnus leaned back against one of the workbenches, letting out a sigh.

“I mean, this is great. We found the Avatar before the Fire Nation did... For once. But we still need to find you teachers.”

Angus nodded.

“Grampa said I need to learn Firebending next. Then air. Then water.”

Taako let his breath out in a slow exhale.

“I hate to break this to you, bubbuleh, but there’s no way we’re going to be able to find an Airbender. There’s none of them left.”

Julia nodded a little, going to a box tucked under one of the workbenches.

“We’ll figure it out. But we may as well start with what we  _ can _ do. I know it’s out of order, but we can find you a Waterbending master at the North Pole and maybe they’ll have an idea for the Airbending.” She pulled out a scroll. “I just need to contact an old friend to get us there.”

Magnus grinned broadly as he realized what she was holding. Then he started to reach for his tools, packing them into a bag.

“Davenport, right, Jules?” When she nodded, he grinned at the other two. “Best sea captain out there. I’ve seen him outrun the Fire Navy more times than I can count. He runs their blockades in a little sailing rig that goes faster than you’d ever believe, just dodging around their big ships. They tried to hit him and it’s like trying to hit a cloud. It’s like he’s not even there. Like he’s just an illusion or something.”

Julia tucked the scroll down the front of her dress.

“I just need to get the message to him and see where he wants to meet. He doesn’t come to the Colonies. Too dangerous.”

* * *

Kravitz walked briskly towards the command post ahead of them.

“And remember you two, not a word about this to anyone other than our commander. Do you hear me?”

Lup rolled her eyes, vastly more interested in getting back to the hunt than in the report in part of things. Happily, Kravitz would be handling that while she and Barry got some time to relax.

“You got it, boss. Whatever you say.”

Barry simply nodded. It was almost like he wasn’t paying attention to either of them. As soon as Kravitz headed in the door to the command post, Lup turned and grabbed Barry by the arm.

“Come on, Barold, we’re going to the practice courts. I’m bored.”

Barry let her tug him along but he still protested.

“Lup, I’m... I’m not a bender. I can’t-”

She looked back at him, silencing him with a look.

“I know that, nerd boy. But  _ I _ want to practice and you’re coming with me.”

When they arrived at the training grounds, Lup was annoyed to see another team already there working. And, of course, it would be her least favorite trio of Firebenders from home. Edward grinned, catching the flames his sister had launched at him instead of redirecting them.

“Would you look at this, dear sister, it’s our little cousin, Lulu.”

Lydia stretched and turned around, a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Goodness, and she’s still carting around the other provincial peasant. Here I was hoping perhaps she’d developed some taste.”

Edward chuckled and looked over at his sister.

“Now, now, we must give our dear cousin some leeway. After all, perhaps she’s simply drawn to the mud the same as her father and his Earth Kingdom wench.”

Lup bristled and strode towards them.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Edward laughed and Lydia’s smile turned cruel.

“And what are you going to do about it, Lulu? Challenge us to an Agni Kai? Even you don’t have the courage to challenge the Fire Prince and Princess.”

The worst part was that they were right. Not that she wasn’t ready to handle them. No, she was afraid of what would happen if their father, the Firelord, found out. She knew perfectly well that her happy existence was on his sufferance and he could take that all away in an instant. Lup was alone in this world and she knew it. Barry bowed to the Fire Prince and Fire Princess but moved no closer. Lup couldn’t blame him. She knew her cousins. They were more than sadistic enough to hurt him and claim they’d simply forgotten he couldn’t bend when someone tried to call them on it.

That was when the third member of the group spoke up. He was a perpetual thorn in Lup’s side, an irritant she couldn’t seem to shake.

“You know what I heard, Your Highnesses? I heard from another patrol that these two let an Earthbender get away because Lup thought she found her dead brother.”

Barry’s head snapped up at that and he glared at Greg Grimaldis. Even Edward and Lydia looked a little taken aback. Everyone knew not to touch this particular sore spot. Say whatever you like about Lup, but you better well leave Taako out of it.

Lup strode forward, her hands wreathed in flames.

“Are you questioning my honor, Greg Grimaldis? Because you don’t fucking have any honor. And you don’t deserve to even talk about my brother.” The flames around her hands vanished and she pointed at him. “I think it’s time I remind you why  _ I _ was top of our class and not you, Greg Grimaldis. Agni Kai. Here. Sunset. Be there, or let everyone know that you’re a coward with no honor.”

Greg walked up to Lup, a sick grin on his face.

“You want to fight, little girl? Then we’ll fight. At sunset. And when I’m done wiping the floor with you, we’ll see how well you’ve taught your nerd pet to dodge fire blasts.”

* * *

 

Lup knelt with one fist on the ground, her back to Greg Grimaldis and Barry and Kravitz standing in front of her. Neither of them was exactly happy with this, but as Kravitz had pointed out, you couldn’t stop an Agni Kai once the challenge was issued. Lup rose and turned, measuring her opponent with every step they took towards each other. Then she pivoted and kicked out at him. Blue flames lashed at Greg and he rolled to the side, pulling the flames with him and redirecting them back at her. The heat still lashed at him. Lup grinned at that. There weren’t many who could handle the flames she produced. She didn’t even bother to dodge, simply spun the flames around her and shifted her stance. As long as she had her root and kept him moving, there was nothing he could do to shake her. With a one-two punch of flames, she had him ducking and weaving, trying to get close. She dodged his next kick as the flames arched over her head. Using the momentum of that, she kicked low and Greg fell to the ground. Lup moved over him, ready to strike if he so much as moved. He didn’t. Even Greg Grimaldis knew when he was beaten.

“If you’re done, Lup, we need to get moving. I have our next assignment.”

Kravitz merely sounded entertained as he watched now. Barry, on the other hand, was cheering enthusiastically. Lup moved away from Greg.

“Remember that next time you think about running your mouth.”

She turned away from him and started to walk back to her friends. That was when Greg launched another blast of flames at Lup’s back. Kravitz moved faster than anyone could have believed possible if they hadn’t seen him in action before. He caught the flames and extinguished them, glaring at Greg.

“If that’s how you take a defeat, Greg Grimaldis, then Lup was right and you do have no honor.”

* * *

Edward and Lydia both seemed amused as a somewhat scorched and bruised Greg returned to them after his defeat. He was in a towering rage and that only made it funnier for the royal twins. For a long while, they watched him rage and rant about how he was going to get his revenge on that provincial upstart and her friends no matter what it took. Finally, Edward silenced the man with a look.

“Do you really want that, Greg? A chance at revenge? Because I have some news from the Commander about what exactly cousin Lulu and her little friends are working on.”

Lydia laughed, leaning back in her seat.

“As if they’ll be able to manage something as important as this though. Honestly. We should take the mission on regardless simply to ensure that someone does it properly.”

Greg looked back and forth between the pair.

“Mission? How does doing their mission get me revenge?”

Edward smiled slowly.

“Gregory, my simple man, those bumbling doofuses let the Avatar escape them. All we have to do to make cousin Lulu look bad is capture the Avatar before she can. And it shouldn’t be too difficult either. From what Kravitz reported to the Commander, the Avatar is a ten-year-old boy.”


	3. Oh Shit, Sweet Flips

An Earth Kingdom messenger found Julia outside in the morning while she was fetching water. She ran back into the house, unfurling the scroll as she did.

“Magnus! Magnus, I hope you’re done back because we need to go!”

Magnus looked up and then grabbed his axe off the wall.

“I’m good. Did Davenport....?”

She nodded and tossed him the scroll. Magnus skimmed it and turned to Taako.

“We have to go north. He won’t come to the Colonies. I’m not surprised. He never does.”

Taako nodded slowly. All things being equal, if he hadn’t grown up here, he wouldn’t much want to be here either. He went to the little boy sleeping beside the fire and shook him awake.

“Come on, Angus, time to go.”

Angus sat up and put his glasses back on.

“Ready to go, Sir.”

Soon enough, the group was on the road with Junior bobbing along, darting in between them. Angus walked with Taako, both of them quiet at first. As the sun rose higher, Angus finally broke the silence.

“Taako?”

Taako kept his eyes ahead as he answered.

“Did you really think that Firebender was your sister?”

Magnus and Julia glanced over, noticing the slight vibrations of the pebbles around Taako as he looked down. For a moment, Angus regretted asking, but then Taako looked over at him.

“Hachi machi, you don't ask the small shit, do you? Yeah. Yeah, I did. Do. That was Lup.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow, walking backward so he could face Taako.

“She's your sister?”

Taako nodded once.

“Twin sister. She got Fire, I got Earth.” Then his eyes narrowed. “Why?”

It was Julia that answered, her voice quiet.

“Her and her whole team, they've been terrorizing that village since Kalen and his thugs left. One of the farms? They wouldn't give over crops to the Fire Nation, so she and that Kravitz burned their fields.”

Taako froze in the roadway. She had done _what?_ Magnus shook his head a little.

“Forget about it, Taako. If she was your sister once, she's Fire Nation now.”

Taako didn't respond, his mind instead on the weight in his pack and the weight of his past.

* * *

That evening, they made camp by a river. Taako and Angus went to spend some time practicing bending, just planning on seeing how much training the ten year old had really gotten. Magnus and Julia could hear them laughing as they set up a small camp. Then Magnus heard a distinctive whistle and looked up.

“How far north did you say we were, Jules?”

That was when a shadow dropped out of the trees to stand in front of him. Magnus yelled, fists raised. But then he stopped, laughing as he recognized the girl in front of him.

“Carey!”

He caught her up in a hug and swung her around before setting her back on the ground.

“What are you doing in my turf, Burnsides? I thought you’d gone off to Kyoshi Island.”

* * *

With the quick reunion over and some new introductions done, the camp had been packed up quickly and the group had followed Carey through the woods. That was where they found a hidden camp. There were people here dressed to hide and dressed to fight practicing their skills. Magnus was grinning ear to ear. This was his kind of place.

“Killian here too?”

“You better believe it. She's basically in command of this little operation.”

Carey ducked into one of the tents, the smile on her face shifting from a cocky grin to something a bit more tender.  
  
"Killian, you'll never guess what I found on my patrol."  
  
Killian looked up from the maps she was pouring over and returned that smile.  
  
"Something fun?"  
  
Carey stepped out of the way and Magnus moved into the tent.  
  
"Magnus Burnsides!” Killian stood, a grin on her face. “And you brought friends. Hey, Julia, how’re you holding up?”

Julia pushed Angus forward a little.

“I’ve got good news. We found the Avatar.”

Angus waved a little.

“Hello, Miss. I’m Angus.”

Killian bowed to the boy.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Avatar Angus. Now, I bet the bunch of you need someplace to stay, am I right? And a meal?” There was a quick chorus of agreement and Killian nodded. “Great, come on. And Magnus, I want to tell you what we’ve got going on here. Carey and I might have a lock on dealing with that Fire Nation Garrison that’s been such a problem.”

* * *

Dinner was a loud, chaotic affair and Taako found himself planted between Angus and a girl he didn’t know named Ren. Apparently, she’d been one of the cooks for tonight’s dinner. Taako didn’t often like other people’s cooking, but he’d been surprised to find that the food spread out before them was absolutely amazing. Not that he got all that much time to focus on that, or on talking to Ren about her recipes. No. Instead, he was listening to Killian and Magnus argue about tactics.

“You can’t just go charging in there, Killian. Most of your people aren’t even benders!”

Killian shrugged and then grinned at Carey.

“We’ve got something those Firebenders don’t have.”

Angus looked up at them, setting down his spoon.

“Really? What’s what?”

Carey winked at him.

“Tactical secrets, you’ll see, Avatar.”

Magnus crossed his arms over his chest, looking back and forth between his two friends.

“I still don’t like it. If you just go in with a full out offensive, people are going to get hurt.”

Taako took a long slurping sip of his soup, carefully calculated to interrupt the conversation at hand. Then he looked up.

“Either way, we can’t help. We gotta run Avatar Ango here up to the North Pole for serious bender shit. Have fun poking the Fire Nation with pointy sticks.”

Angus was frowning though.

“But um... isn’t this the sort of helping people that I should be doing as the Avatar? And... I sort of have an idea too, if you want it.”

All eyes were on the young Avatar now and Taako felt distinctly uncomfortable. He did not want to fight Firebenders. He didn’t want to go anywhere near Firebenders. Killian grinned though and leaned forward.

“What’ve you got, Avatar?”

Angus stood up a little, Junior bobbing next to him.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe... A garrison has supplies, right? And the people in the villages could probably use those supplies. So what if we just stole the supplies and spread them out so that the Fire Nation can’t just take them all back?”

There was a long moment of silence and then Carey punched the air with a whoop of excitement. Turning, she looked over at Magnus who was also grinning now.

“Hell yeah, Burnsides! Stealth mission!”

* * *

Magnus perched high in a tree, his eyes on the garrison fortress ahead of them. Raising his hand to his mouth, he let out a whistling bird call and listened for the answer. It came from the other side of the fortress, where he knew Carey and Killian were. Now they just had to wait for the signal. There it was, a third whistle much closer to the fortress. Angus and Taako were in place. Time to move. He dropped back to the ground where Julia was waiting and together they crept towards the garrison fortress.

Taako and Angus stood together in the shadow of the wall, both of them focused on the stone walls. At the signal, they both shifted and pulled the stone to open a path for the others to dart through. Killian nodded and Angus and Taako ducked in last, closing the door behind them. It wasn’t too far to where the supplies were stored, at least not from what they knew. Taako was trying to stick close to Angus. Sure, the little guy was the Avatar, but he was also just a little kid. Killian, Magnus, Angus, and Julia ducked into the storeroom while Taako and Carey stayed out in the hall just in case.

It was a few minutes before anything happened. A few minutes of Angus opening a tunnel out the back and supplies being ferried outside the walls. Then Taako’s head shot up.

“Vibrations. Someone’s coming.”

Carey nodded and rolled off to the side. A moment later, a Fire Nation soldier came walking down the hallway towards them. She spotted Taako and set into a combat stance.

“You shouldn’t be in here.”

Taako shrugged and dropped into a horse stance.

“Yeah, but like, I’m never where I should be so, I guess you’re gonna have to just fucking deal.”

He punched forward hard and one of the stones of the wall shot at the soldier. She kicked a flame at it, deflecting it away. Suddenly, Carey was behind her. With two careful strikes from her, the Firebender’s arms went limp.

“Taako, get the others and go! I’ve got her.”

Taako didn’t move. He was staring at the Firebender with wide eyes.

“What did... What did you _do?”_

Carey shrugged a little and hit the woman on the back of the head. The woman’s eyes rolled up and she slumped to the ground.

“Chi blocking. Neat, isn’t it?”

Taako looked down at the woman laying on the ground. He wasn’t seeing this stranger though. He was seeing Lup laying there instead. Carey cursed and grabbed him by the arm.

“Come on, rock boy. We don’t have time for your shit.”

When they had finished sorting the supplies and sending runners out to take them to the disparate villages, Magnus was standing with Carey and Killian. He was proud of them, of all of them. They'd done a good job today and helped a lot of people. Sure, he was also worried about Taako, but they'd really knocked the mission out of the park. Even if the Earthbender hadn't said much since they got back. Even if he kept staring off into the distance like he was waiting for something.

Carey rested a hand on his shoulder and Magnus turned to look at her.

“I’ve got some news for you, Burnsides. And I think you’ll like this. Jules too.”

Magnus raised his eyebrow.

“What’s up?”

“We found Steven. I know where Kalen’s prison is.”

Magnus put his hands on Carey’s shoulders.

“Tell me.”

* * *

Kravitz leaned over the map and set a white token down on it.

  
"If they're following the traditional order of the Avatar Cycle, they'll need to get the boy a Firebending teacher. So, I would expect them to stay in the area or move towards the Fire Nation."  
Lup rolled her eyes and moved the token to the northeast.  
  
"They know as well as we do that they're not going to find a Firebending teacher. And there's no Airbenders left, so they're going to need to head towards the Water Tribe. It's the only place they can get help."  
  
The argument kept going, their voices raised, and Barry sighed. He had better things to do tonight than listen to his friends fight. Standing, he grabbed his small pack.  
  
"I'm headed down to the river to uh... to clean up some. I'll be back later."  
  
Lup and Kravitz ignored him and Barry slipped out of the camp. The river wasn't far and he could feel it calling him like the tide pulling him out to sea.

* * *

Barry stripped down to his trousers, leaving his clothes piled neatly on the shore, and stepped into the river. It was cold, but it felt familiar, right even. He shifted his weight, settling into a mobile stance. Then he raised his hands and smiled as the water lifted. He let it flow with his movements, moving it back and forth with ease. He let the water splash back into the river and shifted, spreading his arms wide. When he raised them again, the water surrounded him. He let that drop and pulled a thin stream of water up, dancing it through the air before launching it forward in a water whip. Barry's smile was huge. He knew he would be soaked when he got back to camp and he didn't care. This was worth it. It was like being a kid again, splashing in the river behind their house while his mother taught him the basic forms. 

* * *

  
Lup looked up when Barry walked back into the camp and sat by the fire.  
  
"What happened to you, Barold? You're soaked."  
  
Barry looked up, drying his glasses on one of the dry parts of his shirt.  
  
"Oh, I uh... I fell in." He reached for the teapot. “Do we have any jasmine tea left?”

Lup stared at him for a long moment then shook her head.

“Only you, nerd boy. Only you.”

* * *

Angus could see the ocean ahead of them and started running forward.

“Look! It’s so big!”

Taako walked along behind him, watching the little boy. Then he spotted a bright orange sail over what looked like a silver ship skipping across the waves.

“Looks like our ride is here.”

Julia nodded, picking up the pace. Magnus broke out into a full run.

“That’s Capn’port alright! Let’s go. He won’t want to stay long.”

It didn’t take long for them to get to the shore. When they got there, they were met by a man in bright clothes with a smile on his face. He gestured for them to get on quickly.

“Let’s get going before anyone spots us.” Davenport took the helm, scanning the horizon. “The Starblaster’s fast, but I don’t want to take any chances.”


	4. The Northern Water Tribe

Two figures sat side by side on the ice cliffs overlooking the ocean. The moon was high above them, casting its soft light on the snow. The two young women were holding hands and looking out at the sea. The quiet woman named Tui reached for the hand of the woman seated beside her.

“Lucretia, do you feel the changing in the tides too?”

Lucretia tensed slightly, holding Tui’s hand like a lifeline. She could feel it, this strange calm before the storm that was settling over her home. That didn’t mean she wanted to.

“What do you think it is, love?”

Tui’s eyes were troubled.

“La might know. Or perhaps...”

She trailed off for a long moment, then Lucretia looked out to sea again and spotted a small splash of color cutting across the waves towards their harbor. A silver ship that glinted in the moonlight.

“What do you suppose that is?”

Tui squeezed Lucretia’s hand.

“A beginning, I think. To what, I don’t know.”

* * *

Angus leaned against the rail, the water splashing up into his face as he laughed. Taako hung back watching with a smile. Somewhere behind them at the helm, Davenport was steering them towards their destination. Julia and Magnus were sitting on the deck with a pai sho board set between them. Angus turned as Junior spun and splashed and the little boy grinned at Taako. Then he stopped, uncertainty crossing his face.

“Um... Sir? Taako? What if... What if I can’t find a Firebender who will teach me at all? Or an Airbender? What if I’m doing something wrong by going out of the traditional order? What if something goes wrong? What... what if I’m not a good enough Avatar, Sir?”

Taako sat down and patted the spot next to him.

“Listen up, kid, because cha’boy is only gonna give this kinda deep shit advice the once. You’re the Avatar and that’s that. You’ve got crazy Avatar spirit powers and shit and you’re a smart kid. If anyone can figure out how to master an element without a fucking teacher, it’ll be you. And sure, Air is kinda fucked. There’s none of them left. But fire? We can find you a Firebender. It just might be hard.”

Angus sat beside Taako and leaned against him with a sigh. Taako put an arm around the young Avatar and smiled.

“Anyway, you got me. So like, we got this. Natch.”

The ship skipped up over the swell of a wave and they saw huge walls of ice before them. Then they heard Davenport yell from the helm.

“Welcome to the Northern Water Tribe.”

* * *

The gates were thrown wide for the young Avatar and his friends, though Davenport didn’t stick around. He had laughed and said he didn’t like to stay in any port too long. Staying with both feet on the land just wasn’t his style. Angus had been walking through the city with his eyes wide behind his glasses as he stared at everything. He grabbed onto Taako’s hand, staying close to his side. 

“Calm down, bubbeleh. Everybody here loves you. Don’t sweat that one bit. They’re talking about throwing you a feast.”

Angus tugged on Taako’s arm, forcing him to stop. 

“But I have to find a teacher. A Waterbending Master. What if... what if there isn’t a good teacher or what if the teacher is scary?”

Taako ruffled Angus’ hair.

“You’re gonna do great. Now let’s go. Cha’boy is starving and I can’t wait to see what Water Tribe cooking is like.”

They caught up with the others and soon Angus, Taako, Magnus, and Julia were seated at a long, low table with food spread before them. Seated with them were three women, two of them twins named Tui and La and the third a very quiet woman who spent most of the meal listening to everyone else talk. Her name was Lucretia.

* * *

During the course of the feast, Angus met several of the Waterbenders of the city and received several offers from Masters to train him. Angus had just nodded silently and hidden behind Junior. Magnus frowned slightly.

“Hey buddy, you need to pick a teacher, okay? There’s a whole bunch and they seem really interested in teaching you.”

Angus took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to line up the words to explain. There were too many of them, too many choices and they were all so loud. He wanted a teacher like his Grandpa, a Master who was quiet and calm. And Master Pakku seemed like the kind of man who would yell at his students. Angus was very not into being yelled at. He shook his head at Magnus and then looked around. He could see Lucretia watching him with an intense curiosity in her eyes. He looked up at Magnus again and then walked over to Lucretia.

“Are you a Waterbender?”

Lucretia looked startled but she smiled a little.

“I am, yes.”

Angus brightened.

“Can you be my teacher?”

For a long moment, Lucretia just stared at him. Then she looked at Master Pakku over Angus’ shoulder and then back at Angus before shaking her head. She got up quickly.

“I can’t. I can’t teach you. I don’t... I can’t.”

Then she turned and left quickly. Tui scrambled to her feet.

“Luce, wait!”

Then she followed after, leaving La behind to sigh and watch them go.

“Did... did I do something wrong?”

Angus’ voice was quiet as he looked up at La.

“I don’t know, Avatar. You could always follow and find out.”

* * *

Barry held a spyglass to one eye, scanning the horizon to the north. He turned and looked at the captain piloting their ship.

“Turn east, Captain.”

The man gasped at him.

“The Northern Water Tribe is just ahead to the  _ north _ . Why would I change course?”

Barry grabbed the man by the front of his uniform and leaned in. Lup stood up then from where she’d been lounging.

“What the hell, Barold?”

He looked over at her and then back at the captain before pointing up at the soot and smoke coming out of the smokestack of their ship.

“ _ That _ mixes with the snow in the upper air and falls as black snow. Every child in the Water Tribe knows what that means when they see it. Do you really want to let them know we’re coming?”

Kravitz frowned slightly and then nodded.

“Do as he says.”

Lup ruffled Barry’s hair, a grin on her face.

“Hell yeah, nerd boy. Got anything else for us?”

He looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable for just a moment, but then he nodded.

“I do... actually. Clothes that will help us blend in. This is a... a stealth mission, right? The clothing will get the three of us into the city without too much question. Then you just uh... just need to let me take the lead.”

When Kravitz nodded, Barry went to his own packs. Lup watched curiously as he produced multiple outfits in Water Tribe blue.

“We’ll also have to do something about uh... about your hair. The styles are wrong.”

Barry tossed a long coat to Lup and picked up a pair of sturdy blue pants. She watched as he tied his hair up in one of the wolf tails that seemed to be so common in the South and wondered. It suited him. His hair was cut for it already, with the sides shaved in such a way that you couldn’t normally tell. She spared a moment to glance at Kravitz before grabbing the rest of the outfit Barry was offering her. If Kravitz hadn’t noticed, that was alright, but she was starting to have questions about who Barry really was, questions she didn’t really want to get answers to. Not if they would jeopardize their friendship. It was possible he’d learned all of this at the Academy. He was in Intelligence, after all. But when she turned again and saw him dressed like a member of the Water Tribe, she couldn’t help but wonder. 

* * *

The guards on the gate smiled as they saw Barry, Lup, and Kravitz walking up. Barry held a hand up in greeting. One of the guards stepped forward, his spear still in hand, and Lup tensed slightly. Barry put a hand on her arm.

“It’s okay.” Then he shrugged apologetically to the man approaching them. “Sorry, it’s not that she’s worried about  _ you _ in specific. Our village got hit pretty hard by the Fire Nation and well...”

The man nodded, understanding.

“And how is the Southern Tribe?”

With a shadow in his eyes that wasn’t even slightly feigned, Barry told the stark truth.

“Bad. Very bad. Mostly just women and children hanging on and almost all of the Benders have been imprisoned by the Fire Nation.” He held his hand out. “Sildar Hallwinter. And my companions are Gregor and Marlena.”

The man shook his hand. Barry had tried not to hold his breath. He didn’t think anyone this far north would recognize the names he’d given, but there was always the risk. In the end, it seemed 

“I’m Avi. Come inside, all of you. You picked a good day to arrive. We have a new hope against the Fire Nation.”

Kravitz looked at him skeptically.

“And what is that?”

Avi gave them a huge smile.

“The Avatar himself is here. They’re feasting him tonight. And I heard around that tomorrow he’s starting Waterbending training.” Avi clapped Kravitz on the back. “Isn’t that great? Now come on, let’s get the three of you some food.”

* * *

Lucretia stood looking out at the ocean, trying to relax. She heard footsteps behind her and turned, afraid it would either be the young Avatar or Master Pakku. Instead, she saw Tui running up behind her. 

“Lucretia, love, is everything alright?”

She shook her head, her mind swimming with memories from years ago when she’d just begun learning to waterbend, before Tui and La had started teaching her.

“Master Pakku. He can’t know how much you two have been teaching me or...”

Tui put her arms around Lucretia and kissed her forehead gently.

“Even if he tried to stop me from teaching you, love, I wouldn’t. And there’s no reason you can’t teach the Avatar if you wanted.”

Lucretia laughed quietly and leaned against Tui.

“Shouldn’t you? I’m still a student, Tui. You’re the master.”

Tui raised a hand quickly, a snowball forming and then hanging in the air.

“You always sell yourself short. Come on, let’s practice for a while and you’ll see.”

Lucretia took a step back, settling into the most basic stance. Then she pulled the snowball towards her and around her. Tui laughed and raised her own hands. Lucretia pushed her hand forward and the ball flew. That was when she heard a quiet gasp. The Avatar, Angus McDonald, was standing not ten feet away watching them with excitement.

“That’s amazing. Are you sure you can’t be my teacher? Are you absolutely sure?”

Lucretia opened her mouth to respond, her eyes uncertain. How could she explain? Lucretia took a tentative step towards Angus, her hands falling to her sides. 

“Avatar, I... It isn’t that I don’t want to. I  _ can’t _ .”

He frowned slightly.

“Why?”

Before Lucretia could answer, the snow that was falling around them began to change. Instead of the pure white snow that had been falling before, it was thicker and black, with specks in it almost like coal dust. Angus scooped some off the ground and held it up so Lucretia and Tui could see.

“What’s this?”

* * *

Barry could hear Lup and Kravitz arguing quietly as they tried to come up with a plan. He was standing in the small apartment they had been put up in as visitors, one hand on the wall as he gazed out at the window at the sea. It was odd being dressed like this again, odder still seeing the furs on the walls and the snow outside. It was almost like before the Fire Nation had come. He closed his eyes and smiled, breathing in the familiar smells coming from the city around him. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was so close. He opened his eyes again, leaning against the window frame. Then he froze. Snow was falling once more. Black snow. He scooped up a handful from the windowsill and stared at it. For a moment, he remembered watching his mother pick up a similar handful of snow, a shadow in her eyes. She had been so scared that day. Turning around, he held out the black snow that was melting on his palm.

“You guys? We’ve got a problem.”


	5. The Moon

Rank upon rank of ships cut through the waves and Greg Grimaldis stood at the fore of the lead ship. As they approached, he raised a spyglass towards the heights of ice and snow that made up the walls around the Northern Water Tribe. This. This would be the greatest victory in the history of the Fire Nation, as great as their victory over the Air Nomads. A young officer stood nearby, one hand up to shade his eyes against the setting sun.

“Admiral,” He said tentatively. “Shouldn’t we way anchor? The Waterbenders are powered from the moon and it’s nearly full tonight.”

Greg sighed expressively and then turned.

“A pity, isn’t it? We could stomp them in a single day if it wasn’t for the moon. But then... I have a plan for that. Relay the order, Terry. We attack with the dawn and tomorrow, we deal with that pesky moon problem.”

Terry bowed quickly and turned to run to relay the order to the other ships. Inside, he was wondering what sort of plan Old Blue Eyes has this time.

* * *

The whoosh-thud was what woke Taako out of a sound sleep and he bolted upright to see a fireball go careening past his window.

“Fire Nation!”

He yelled it, scrambling out of bed and diving to wake Angus. They had to get out of here. They had to run, to hide, to do something. Magnus surged up out of his bed, grabbing for his axe. Julia was right behind him, throwing her armor on with a speed Taako wouldn’t have believed possible. Angus sat up and jammed his glasses on, looking up at them with a scared determination.

“Can I help?"

Taako had been ready to grab the young Avatar and run as far and as fast as he possibly could. Then Angus had looked at him with those determined eyes and Taako groaned.

"Alright, yeah, sure, let's go figure out what we're doing."

* * *

Barry watched the Fire Nation ships as the attack on the Northern Water Tribe began and for just a moment, the young man felt like a child again. A lost, scared child, running from soldiers and trying to find his mother, a child who had never found out what happened to his father. Turning around, he looked at Lup and Kravitz.

"We need to get the Avatar and get out of here."

Lup's eyes were on the flagship of the armada, a frown on her face.

"Grimaldis. He must've decided getting his ass whooped by me once wasn't enough."

She grabbed Barry's arm, tugging him towards the door of their small apartment. Kravitz ran after them, looking around.

"Where would the boy be?" Then he raised his head. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. He grabbed Lup's arm, expression unreadable. "You two find the Avatar, I need to... I need to go."

Before Lup or Barry could question his words, Kravitz was off like a shot, running further into the city. Barry looked around and then pointed towards the walls of the city.

"They're forming a defense. Odds are the Avatar will go there."

Lup nodded and together, they ran towards the wall. The faster they found the boy, the faster they could get out of here and slip right under the nose of Greg Grimaldis.

* * *

Kravitz could feel the surge of power in the spiritual level of the world and it made him feel uncomfortable, hot, dizzy almost. Something was wrong. He raced towards the source of the feeling, hoping he would get there before whatever this was got much worse. He rounded a corner to see three young women dressed in Water Tribe colors. All three of them were doing their best to hold off a group of attackers in Fire Navy uniforms. At first, he didn't care. He was too focused on trying to find the feeling that had drawn him. Then his eyes locked on one of the women and he realized it was  _her_  that he felt. She was a Spirit in a mortal body. And these idiots were trying to kill her.

"Move aside, men." Kravitz turned and saw Greg Grimaldis stride out of the ranks of his men. "Let me handle this."

Grimaldis set himself into a combat stance and smiled slowly at the three young women. One took a half step back, she was the Spirit who was in danger. But the more Kravitz focused, the more he began to realize there were two Spirits there. And the third woman, the human, she took a shaky stance and bent the water up out of the snow. It wasn't going to be enough. Kravitz tensed and then shucked off the Water Tribe jacket he was wearing, running forward. He stood between them and the Fire Navy, and Greg Grimaldis, dropping immediately into a light and mobile combat stance.

"Anything you do to that spirit, I will unleash on you tenfold, Greg Grimaldis."

Angus turned the corner, running towards the wall of the city with Taako, Magnus, and Julia hot on his heels. Another blast of fire shot over the walls and he ducked out of the way. They came around the corner just as Greg Grimaldis laughed and kicked a blast of fire at Kravitz.

"Why am I not surprised by your treachery, Kravitz? Is it because you've spent so much time with that peon from the Earth Kingdom that masquerades as a Fire Nation soldier? Or are you just so afraid of the Spirits that you won't do what the Fire Nation needs done?"

Kravitz turned the attack back against Greg and surged forward, following it with a one-two punch of flames. He ducked under Greg's next attack out of years of instinct and kicked up, forcing Greg backward. It was only then that he realized the mistake he'd made as he heard the cry of pain behind him. Greg Grimaldis laughed and then looked at his soldiers.

"Men, seize the traitor. We'll take Kravitz here home to the Fire Nation and tell the Fire Lord all about what he and his little friends have been up to, won't we?"

Angus yelled, fury rising in him. Kravitz didn't turn, he couldn't afford to. He kept both hands up, out in front of him and ready to fight off the attacks that were sure to come. 

"Leave him alone!"

A young voice, echoing with generations of Avatars, cried out and a burst of air knocked Greg Grimaldis back. Kravitz, and the Fire Navy soldiers, turned to see that Angus had entered the Avatar state. His eyes were glowing behind his glasses and he had fury on his face. Kravitz moved back, lowering his hands. The last thing he wanted was to look like a threat to the Avatar  _now_. Then he turned, remembering the cry he'd heard before.

"Spirit!"

He whirled around and saw that brave young woman he'd seen before, the one with the white hair and the nervous stance, cradling the Spirit in her arms. There were tears on the woman's cheeks and she was desperately trying to heal her.

"Tui... Tui, please.  _Please_."

The water was glowing in spurts and Kravitz knew it would be enough. He dropped to his knees beside them.

"I'm sorry. I..."

The Spirit looked up at him and smiled a little. "You tried." Then she put a hand on the other woman's arm. "Lucretia, love, it's too late. I have to go home... I have to keep the moon in the sky, keep the balance."

The white-haired woman - Lucretia - looked shaken and she sobbed. 

"Tui, you can't... I can still heal you. Please.  _Please_ don't go."

But the mortal form of the moon spirit was fading now and Kravitz knew that. The sky above was turning red, darkly so, as the moon darkened momentarily. Then the world brightened again. Kravitz was blinded for a moment but when his eyes cleared, he was kneeling alone with Lucretia who had sorrow in her eyes and looked like she had aged ten years in a moment. She wiped her face on her sleeve and looked at Kravitz for a long moment before nodding.

"I won't tell anyone you were here, Firebender. Thank... thank you for trying."

* * *

Angus was a being of fury now, the Avatar State guiding him through as he fought his way through the Fire Navy. And it scared Taako. At the same time, he knew he had to do something else now. Angus had this in hand, or as well in hand as it could be. Turning, Taako grabbed Magnus' arm.

"Ango's got this. But I recognize that guy from the Earth Kingdom. He's Fire Nation, and that means the other two are here somewhere. We need to find them before they find Angus."

Then the Firebender, the one who had been trying to fight Greg Grimaldis stood and turned towards Taako.

"I won't let them take the Avatar. Not... not today." Kravitz bowed to Taako and then turned away. "If I had known what Grimaldis was doing, I would have stopped him sooner. I would have..." He shook his head a little. "I'm sorry. But don't expect that this is the last you'll see of us."

Taako looked Kravitz over uncertainly and then grinned.

"Well, I can't say I'd mind seeing more of you, handsome, assuming you're not shooting fireballs at my head again next time."

For just a moment, there was silence and then Kravitz smiled, chuckling quietly

"We'll see, Earthbender. We'll see." He turned then, starting to run off. Then he stopped and look back over his shoulder. "What's your name?"

There was only a brief hesitation before Taako smiled.

"I'm Taako."

Magnus grabbed Taako's arm and spun him back towards the battle.

"Stop flirting with the Firebender. We need to help Angus."

Taako took a breath and shook the grin off his face.

"Right, right, yeah, let's go."

* * *

Kravitz found Lup and Barry tucked into one of the large water pipes that were at the end of each of the canals that cut through the city. He ducked in just as a blast of cold air shot past, looking at them in surprise.

"What happened?"

Barry adjusted his glasses and pointed out. They could just see the sphere of swirling air and water that was the Avatar from here.

_"That_. With all due respect, Kravitz, I... I'm not tangling with an Avatar in the Avatar State. In case you forgot, I'm the member of this team that can't bend."

Lup nodded as well and then grinned.

"Hey, at least we know where the kid is now, right?"

Kravitz sighed and rubbed his temples. Then he turned away from them. This was it, wasn't it? The moment when everything would change. Taking a breath, he looked down.

"You need to leave the north pole. Both of you. This invasion was Grimaldis. He... was defeated." He couldn't look at it while he said it, he was too worried that Lup would see the truth in his eyes. "We can't risk you two getting caught and-"

Lup cut him off, a surprised look on her face.

"What about you, Krav?"

He shook his head.

"I need to be alone for a while and I'm not sure I'm going back to the Fire Nation. It's probable that I'm already being considered a traitor and I don't want you two to have to follow me into that. Make your own choices but stay safe." He turned and bowed to both of them. "It was an honor serving with you and I hope to see you again someday."

Startled, Barry and Lup stood and returned that bow. Then Barry put a hand on Lup's arm. 

"Come on, I know a way out."

* * *

Angus collapsed to the ground, coming out of the Avatar State to find a ruined fleet before him. Julia caught him as he fell and he looked out at the ocean in front of him.

"Did... did I do that, Miss Julia?"

She hugged him tightly.

"You saved everybody, Angus. I'm proud of you."

He shook his head a little and then buried his face against her shoulder.

"I... I hurt people. I didn't want to hurt people."

Scooping him up in her arms, Julia turned him away so he couldn't see the ships. She looked at Magnus where he stood, axe in hand, looking at a small group of Firebenders. Taako was just beyond, a few pebbles spinning around one hand. 

"Well?"

Julia raised an eyebrow, looking at them. Then Lucretia stepped into view. 

"The fight is over and... and the Spirits returned to the Spirit World. And..." She stopped and bowed her head. "Tui asked me to go with you, to train the Avatar in Waterbending, if he still wants me to be his master."


	6. A Single Spark

The small boy crawled up into the lap of his mother where she sat by the open window. They could see the sea in the distance and beyond that a mountain that smoked and glowed brightly. The little boy pointed at the smoke and looked up at his mother. She smiled at his unspoken question and brushed his hair back out of his eyes.

"Do you want a story, dear Kravitz?"

He nodded excitedly, trying not to bounce, and she laughed quietly.

"Well then, let me see... You see that smoke there? That, my little one, is a volcano. That is a place where the fire inside the world comes up to meet the air and the water, a place where all four elements meet. And do you know what makes that special?"

Little Kravitz shook his head and then leaned back against his mother.

"Why, Mama?"

"Because the meeting of the four elements is sacred and because only the Avatar can bend all four elements. Now, do you know where our ancestors first learned to firebend?"

He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

"From the... volcanos?"

His mother laughed, tickling his sides.

"Not from there, little one. They learned it from the dragons. They were the first firebenders, spirits who came and entwined themselves with our world."

Kravitz bounced excitedly.

"Pictures, Mama?"

That got a laugh out of his mother and she reached towards the candle on the table, pulling a small flame to her. She spun it high over their heads for a moment and then shaped it into a dragon and spun it again.

"The dragons met our ancestors, the Sun Warriors, and taught them honor and how to wield fire. It was there that we began the long trek to becoming the Fire Nation." She flicked her wrists, reshaping the flame so it looked like a man firebending and then again into the symbol of the Fire Nation. "They taught us balance and harmony, my son. Always remember that without balance and respect, the Spirit World and the human world cannot coexist in peace."

Kravitz reached up towards a flame, a small bit of it jumping to his outstretched hand. He looked into it.

"What's that mean, Mama? Balance?"

She was quiet for a moment, watching the way he cupped the little flame and watched it dance.

"See your flame, my small one? See how if you let it get too small, it goes out? But if you were to make it too large, you would lose control of it?" When he nodded fervently, she smiled. "That is balance. Finding the point at which things are at peace." 

* * *

 

It was a quiet afternoon and the people in the small Earth Kingdom village were going about their day to day routines. They had fields to tend, animals to care for, lives to live. All but one young man who crept over a low stone wall and into the backyard of a cottage on the edge of town. A laundry line hung there and he quickly grabbed a shirt and a pair of pants before turning and running back the way he had come. Kravitz had found an abandoned farm, the fields and the barn burned. No doubt he and Lup had done it, but he honestly couldn't remember at this point. There had been so many and it had been so long. He'd had to make his way south after everything at the North Pole and it had taken time. And he was alone now. He tossed the stolen clothes onto the table and looked at the armor that he had shucked days before. He bowed his head deeply.

"Mother... I wish I could have your guidance. I feel so... lost."

Then he sighed and began to strip out of his Fire Nation uniform. Let anyone who found this place think that Kravitz of the Fire Nation had been killed fighting Earth Kingdom insurgents. He would leave this place and find his balance again. He would need it if the Avatar truly had returned. He would need to figure out who he would be and what he would do next, and what he would do if he crossed paths with Barry and Lup again. He closed his eyes and then reached out towards the flame of his small candle, pulling it towards him. He opened his eyes again and watched the little flame in his cupped hands, just like when he was a child. Balance. The Avatar was back. The Fire Lord was leading them down a path he was unsure of. He snuffed the flame out and reached for the Earth Kingdom clothes he had stolen, dressing quickly. He would need to blend in if he was going to cross the entire kingdom on his own. The Avatar would need support if he was going to make it to the Fire Nation. He would need help to get to the Temple of the Fire Sages on Crescent Island. Kravitz had to wonder if his mother would approve of this course of action, if she would approve of his decision to abandon the Fire Nation Army. Then he sighed. Would Lup and Barry? 

* * *

 

Kravitz was nervous as his mother walked with him towards the group of children playing in the palace. Today was his first day being added to the royal entourage, the group of playmates for the Fire Prince and Fire Princess and their cousin from the Fire Nation colonies. He wasn't the only new playmate being added to the group, though the other boy apparently knew the royal cousin already. Another boy, a bit older and technically a non-bending student at the Royal Fire Nation Academy, would also be joining them today. The other boy was from the Colonies, but Kravitz's mother said he had been recruited because of how smart he was. All Kravitz saw was a quiet chubby boy with glasses and a messy haircut. That didn't matter though. He was much more interested in getting to meet the royal twins.

"Honestly though, look at her. She thinks she's something special, doesn't she, Edward?"

"But she's just another colonial nothing, Lydia."

 Kravitz frowned slightly at the conversation he could hear as they turned into the next room. He looked up at his mother but her face was blank. Schooling himself, he tried to copy her. She left him at the door with a reminder to mind his manners and to have fun and he looked at the boy at his side. Barry adjusted his glasses and pushed the door open.

"Come on, if they're uh... if they're teasing her again, she's probably going to punch one of them soon if we don't stop her."

"Her who?"

Kravitz stepped inside and looked over to where the Fire Prince and Fire Princess where standing on opposite sides of their cousin, Lup, each with a sneer on their face. They'd heard the door open and their expressions changed.

"Look, Lydia, our new friends have arrived."

"This will be so much fun. Won't it, Edward?"

"We're going to have to make sure they learn the rules."

Barry looked over at Kravitz and shrugged. Then he smiled at Lup.

"Did you wanna play Pai Sho again? It was really fun at school." Then he looked at Kravitz. "She's really good. You'll see. I thought I was good, but she beats me every time."

Kravitz smiled a little. He did like that game a lot. Then he glanced over at the Fire Prince and Fire Princess. They had matching sneers on their faces and Edward stepped forward, pushing Barry.

"Did I say you could go play with her, peasant? You're here to play with us."

Barry froze and Kravitz realized remembered with dawning horror that Barry couldn't bend. And then Kravitz watched Lup remember it too. She took a step towards Barry and Edward, dropping into a light stance on the balls of her feet.

"Leave him alone, Edward."

Edward turned towards her, dropping into his own more solid fighting stance.

"Why don't you make me?"

Kravitz grabbed Barry by the arm, pulling him back before flames could start to fly. He hoped Lup would have more sense than to actually hurt to Fire Prince. He could tell just from watching them circle each other than Lup was the better bender. There was no question. She had the discipline. And then he immediately had to recalculate when Edward's first shot went for her face. Fire Prince Edward may have less discipline but he more than made up for it in raw viciousness. Lup caught the flame and spun it around before shooting it back at him. He managed to block it and kicked out at her. She should have been able to dodge it easily but as she tried to move, something tripped her. It only took Kravitz a moment to realize it had been the Fire Princess and he was suddenly far less excited about joining their entourage. They were vicious, vindictive. He didn't like it.

Lup hit the ground on her hands and knees and managed to duck under the flames, rolling to get away. Edward laughed though.

"You lose again, cousin." Then he flicked his fingers, dismissing her. "Now I suppose you can go play Pai Sho with your little friends if that's what you want. Lydia, dear, why don't we play something else? Something more interesting than a board game about flower arrangements."

The Royal Twins sauntered off and Lup pushed herself to her feet, breathing hard. Then she punched the air, flames shooting out in front of her.

"I hate him!" 

Barry put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"I know, but... you can't say it where people will hear. Remember?"

Kravitz felt oddly like he was intruding on something private, at least until Lup turned around, nodding at what Barry said. Then she smiled at him and bowed, her fist to her palm.

"You're Kravitz, right?"

He returned the gesture with a smile.

"That's right. Are you really as good at Pai Sho as Barry said?"

* * *

 Kravitz could see the shore now, could see the ocean spread out before him. He would need to get back to the Fire Nation now. The question was how. Only Fire Nation vessels could enter their waters unopposed, particularly if he wanted to try to get to the Crescent Isle. He found his way to a colony town, keeping the wide hat the Earth Kingdom farmers preferred low so it would hide his face, and made his way down to the docks. There was a Fire Nation vessel there, of course, one of the larger naval vessels that also served as a transport bringing people back and forth to the colonies. He licked his lips and then looked around. He would need to get a fresh uniform to get on board. Well, at least that shouldn't be too hard to steal. Narrowing his eyes, he watched a group of soldiers walking down the street and waited until they were nearly gone. He whistled low and one man turned, looking around. 

"I'll be right back. I thought..."

And that was exactly what Kravitz wanted. Just before he stepped out of his hiding place, he smiled. 

* * *

 

Angus woke in the early morning hours, the same image flashing before his eyes that he'd been seeing for the last week. It looked like a mirror swirling with colors but the glass slowly went black, still shot through with those colors. It had been haunting him and he wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean, but he was pretty sure it was bad. And he was pretty sure that it was Avatar business. The question was, how should he figure out what was going on.

"Taako? Sir?" He crawled over to where Taako was sprawled out in his own sleeping bag and shook his shoulder. "I need to talk to you, Sir."  
  
Taako grumbled, rolling over in his sleep. Angus put both hands on Taako's shoulders and shook as hard as he could. Finally, Taako sat up and made a frustrated noise.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Kid, it's the middle of the night. What do you want?"  
  
Angus paused, uncertain. How could he explain this without it sounding lame. He hugged Junior to his chest, the little jellyfish excitedly bobbing and wiggling.  
  
"I... I think I had a vision."


	7. The Last Airbender

Angus set his feet on the bouncing deck of Davenport’s yellow-sailed ship as best he could and tried to copy the moments Lucretia was showing him.

“Waterbending is about flow, Angus.” She was balanced easily even as the ship moved over the waves. "Let the motions flow through you and let the water flow with you."

Angus was much less well balanced, each bounce of the ship knocking him out of his stance. 

"Flow..." He said it quietly, sounding almost uncertain. "Flow..."

Going with the flow of the water was hard for Angus. He was like stone. He liked the strong, reassuring solidness. He liked the way stone was sure of what it was. Water wasn't sure. Water moved freely and kept breaking free of him.

"You're gripping it too tightly. Let it flow."  
  
Angus opened his mouth to complain but his words were cut short when Julia yelled from the bow.  
  
"We've got trouble! I see smoke ahead."  
  
Taako stood up, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked out across the water. There it was, a plume of smoke rising above the water. And there was another. And another. Taako took a deep breath. There was no mistaking what that was. They were headed towards the Fire Nation, after all.   
  
"They've got a blockade."  
  
His voice was uncertain, fear coloring his tone. He moved up next to Angus and pulled a few stones out, fidgeting with them nervously between his fingers. They weren't very large, but they would have to be enough this far from solid land. At the helm, Davenport's eyes narrowed as he looked out at the blockade ahead of them, each ship following the other at a precise rate. They were large Fire Nation coal powered vessels compared to his nimble little sailing ship, but he would need a good wind to get the kind of speed he would need to avoid their flames. That was the real danger. He hesitated for a long moment and looked over at the young Avatar. If they were going to get the answers this boy needed from Avatar Roku, if they were going to make it to the Crescent Isle, Davenport was going to need to run that blockade. He took a breath and let it go. Then he shouted to Lucretia.  
  
"Can you make us go faster from the water? As fast as you can."  
  
She nodded and shifted her stance, bringing water to the back of the small ship to push it forward and moving it away from the front. Faster and faster they went and Davenport aimed them towards where the gap would be in just a moment.  
  
"There!"  
  
A Fire Navy soldier yelled, pointing at them. Then two fireballs launched towards the vessel. Taako launched his stones into the air, deflecting one fireball, but there was no way he could get to the other. Lucretia diverted a bit of water with a flick of her wrist and Angus moved closer to the bow. Julia had pulled one of her metal fans from her belt and watched the Fire Nation vessels. They were almost there, but it wasn't enough, they weren't going fast enough. Davenport clenched his jaw, looking up for a moment at the sails. Then he shifted his stance, one foot going back. He took his hands from the wheel for a moment, bringing his hands up. He spun and his light jacket blew open as the wind rushed around him to fill the sails. With a sudden blast of speed, they shot forward. Taako shot one last stone back towards the Fire Navy soldiers as they shot by, sticking his tongue out at them. The stone dinged off the man's helmet and Taako laughed. Another blast of flame shot towards them, but it couldn't even get close. Davenport's little Starblaster was far too nimble for them to get anywhere close.

Angus wasn't laughing though. Angus could feel the shift in the way the wind was moving around them and looked up at the helm to see Davenport, his hands still up and away from the wheel and his jacket blowing free. Davenport was an Airbender. Davenport was the last Airbender. Angus nearly stumbled over himself as he ran up to Davenport, staring at him in surprise.  
  
"Sir! Sir, you're an Airbender, Sir! Will you teach me? Please?"  
  
Davenport looked startled for a moment, taking a half step back. Then he shook his head a little and briskly closed his jacket before moving back to the wheel.  
  
"Master water and fire first, kid. I'm not going anywhere.”  
  
Angus looked for a moment like he might argue and Davenport reached out to ruffle his hair.  
  
"We're almost there, so you'd better get ready for whatever you're supposed to do at this temple. I don't exactly want to stick around in this place for long."

* * *

  
The island was deserted. The halls of the Fire Temple echoed with their footsteps as the small group began to explore. Somewhere here was the central chamber called the Sanctuary, somewhere here waited a statue of Avatar Roku that held the answers Angus needed. The hallways were like a maze, ever twisting and leading them in circles. Finally, Angus closed his eyes and just started walking, one hand on Junior's bell as the jellyfish bobbed along beside him. Taako didn't question it, following after his young friend. If he was gonna do Avatar bullshit, then all Taako could do was follow and try to keep him out of trouble. Soon enough, though, they found themselves standing outside a large set of double doors decorated with a pair of entwined dragons. There were four openings, two on either side, small and narrow. The group stood looking them over and Julia ran her fingers over the metal.  
  
"This has been scorched. I'd guess it needs Firebending to open it but..."  
  
Magnus stood beside her, shaking his head.  
  
"We're never going to be able to find a Firebender who will open it for us. But we might be able to fake Firebending if we get creative."

Footsteps sounded on the stone floor and Angus whirled around to see a man in a Fire Nation uniform step out of the shadows. He was chuckling to himself quietly and smiled before bowing to Angus.  
  
"As much as I would enjoy seeing what you come up with, I could also offer my services. I'm fairly certain I could open the Sanctuary for you."  
  
It was Kravitz.


End file.
